Archive for the ‘Album / Release News’ Category

Berlin’s TREEDEON will release their debut album, Lowest Level Reincarnation, through the fine folks at Exile On Mainstream in North America on April 7th. A more than fifty-minute-long, full-on, rocked-out sludge assault awaits the listener within these eight raw songs, and confrontationally carved out of depression and channeled in to a maelstrom monstrosity of guitar, bass and drums. Ahead of release date, respected underground rock/doom/stoner webzine, The Sleeping Shaman, has unveiled the entire album in an exclusive auditory public intoxication.

Stream all of TREEDEON’s Lowest Level Reincarnation now at THIS LOCATION.

Preorders for Lowest Level Reincarnation are now available, the CD in a gloss laminated 4-panel mini-gatefold, and the LP audio having been mastered for vinyl, and pressed on 180-gram black pure virgin vinyl and containing a download coupon. Preorders for both versions are available via Exile On Mainstream HERE and in the US via Earsplit Distro HERE.

TREEDEON’s Lowest Level Reincarnation release show takes place at Tiefgrund in Berlin this Friday, March 6th March, alongside Alphatrip. Click here for details, and stand by for additional live dates.

After the almost simultaneous demise of Germany’s noise-stalwarts Ulme and seminal crossover icons Jingo de Lunch, Ulme guitarist and singer Arne and Jingo de Lunch singer Yvonne formed an acoustic band named TREEDEON. Their first show was a set at 2012’s South Of Mainstream Festival, stepping up to replace the disbanded Ulme, and out of the death of two bands came opportunity, as shortly after, a second gig was booked at Berlin’s Schokoladen, where Kaeng-shell punisher Boomer pledged himself as the missing link by offering to play drums. Songs were laid out, written, and rehearsed in a dark cellar, leading to their first demo being released in November 2013. The demo made very clear that the acoustic approach had been revised, overwhelmed by a new (but by no means surprising) monstrous Valkyrie of sheer heaviness, dueling vocals, and screams of emotional terror. A much louder rendition of TREEDEON played a first show in their local hangout, Franken Bar, while their second show brought them to the infamous Roadburn Festival, as part of Exile On Mainstream’s fifteen year anniversary showcase. And what an impression they left! The digitally released demo began rolling around among dedicated punters and created quite a buzz for the band, culminating in an invitation to play the Stoned From The Underground Festival in July 2014. From this gig on, the band rooted themselves very much in the conscience of lovers of noise, sludge, and all kinds of heavy pumping riffage.

Danish bass and drums noise rock destroyer duo, FOSSILS, today calls its radical fanbase together for The Meating as the new EP is now available internationally via the butchers at Indisciplinarian. To aid in the distribution of the fine, fleshy provisions to the masses, the help of American newsmongers Scene Point Blank has been brought in to lay the full platter out for a public sampling.

Witness this fully instrumental act employ mongers of the vocal trades for the first time ever on record as you peruse through seven courses of utter gluttony on The Meating, as the FOSSILS duo steps far outside of their generally instrumental works. Here, the duo is joined by seven friends supplying their own interpretive vocals to a track from FOSSILS’ debut album, Meat Rush, as each of them performed these tracks live at the band’s Flesh Hammer LP release show in March 2014. Originally thought as a one-off at the release event, the performers — including an ex-member of HateSphere, members of The Kandidate, Ultimate Combat Noise, Cola Freaks, Powersolo, Marybell Katastrophy and more — were subsequently brought into the studio to document their contributions to the original tracks. The resulting The Meating is a highly seductive, gourmet abnormality with high energy vocals, noise and poetry contributions for all to enjoy while waiting for the next fully instrumental FOSSILS LP in early 2016.

BYOB, and include a helmet for this full course of FOSSILS’ The Meating at Scene Point Blank RIGHT HERE.

The Meating is now available on cassette and digital formats through Copenhagen-based Indisciplinarian, exactly one year after the release of FOSSILS’ Flesh Hammer sophomore LP. The cassette is limited to 200 copies – 100 with red cover and 100 with black cover — all including a free Bandcamp download. Place your orders HERE.

The latest upcoming live engagements from FOSSILS include performances at a myriad of Danish Indisciplinarian Label Nights in late March with labelmates Piss Vortex and Anti Ritual in March, and again in June. The June run will be followed by a special performance from FOSSILS at this year’s massive Roskilde Festival near Copenhagen, the biggest rock festival in Northern Europe. This very prestigious festival to play runs from June 27th through July 4th, with eight stages hosting one hundred seventy bands so far. Additional tour dates will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

A fresh auditory beating from New Jersey’s LIFELESS is now available via an exclusive premiere of “Surrender” courtesy of American Aftermath. The track hails from the gloomy hardcore quintet’s sophomore LP, Dream, which is now just three weeks from its official release via Southeastern Pennsylvania-based Fast Break! Records, and is hereby released into the public alongside an interrogation with the band on their upcoming album and tons more.

Unleash the punishing groove of “Surrender” through American Aftermath now at THIS LOCATION.

LIFELESS will be touring abroad heavily throughout the year in support of Dream, including their confirmed co-headlining slot With Wisdom In Chains at Brick By Brick Fest in Altoona, Pennsylvania on Saturday, February 28th, a mini-tour surrounding their performance at Southeast Beast 2015 on April 4th and 5th in Jacksonville, Florida, alongside Life Of Agony, Biohazard, H20, Cro-Mags, Earth Crisis and many more and a record release show in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania on April 18th. A full Dream record release show tour weekend is coming together for April, to be followed by additional regional touring throughout North America, an August European tour and tons of additional performances to be announced.

The long awaited follow up to the 2011 break out full length NLFTW, LIFELESS returns from what seems like some hellish, haunted purgatory, inhabited by the demons and ghosts that hide in the often over looked shadows of our daily lives. Pulling back that curtain the band reveals their starkest and most absolute vision to date. Grinding out a master piece of pain with cold fists and dead eyes, it’s evident that LIFELESS has spent the past few years cutting their teeth to razor sharp prowess with those ghosts in the shadows, and as a result have created one of the tightest, darkest, and most interesting hardcore albums in recent memory, with a dozen demoralizing tracks recorded and produced by Len Carmichael. Dream unloads aggression prime for fans of Born From Pain, Crowbar, Hatebreed, Merauder, Cold As Life and 100 Demons and will see release on CD, several colors of 12” vinyl and through all major digital outlets on March 24th. Wearing the sounds of their East Coast hardcore heroes and peers with pride, a tumultuous undertow of downtrodden metal rage influences each anthem on the gloomy Dream LP.

Preorders for Dream are now available, the vinyl in a wide range of color variations limited to 400 copies, alongside additional merch options, RIGHT HERE.

In a multi-nation takeover, multiple international branches of Vice Magazine’s music channel, Noisey, have cooperatively premiered “Plouton,” the gargantuan second movement on UFOMAMMUT’s impending seventh LP, Ecate. In addition to leak of the new track, the fifth installment of short videos documenting the mammoth undertaking of the Ecate recording sessions has been posted, focusing on the album’s vocals being harnessed, and preorder packages for the mighty record have also been activated.

As with the rest of Ecate, “Plouton” is a bit varied from the majority of UFOMAMMUT’s vast recorded catalog, the album unloading a more dense and upbeat percussive and riffage attack, taking the band’s cosmic, psychedelic tones to some of their most devastating capabilities in the band’s now decade-and-a-half-long mission. At just over three minutes in length, “Plouton” consumes only a fractional amount of time compared to most of their extensive doom/sludge anthems, but helps create a distressing amount of tension early in the album which uncoils and consumes everything in earshot over the subsequent tracks. Spearheaded by Noisey’s Brazilian sect, the magazine’s American and Italian branches have also joined the mission to help disseminate the premiere of “Plouton” to as much of the globe as possible. The track is joined by an interview with the band on the creation of Ecate and their upcoming international tour plans following the album’s release, once again through Neurosis’ mighty label cult, Neurot Recordings, in conjunction with the band’s own Supernatural Cat Records.

Endure “Plouton” and the interview with UFOMAMMUT now at Noisey Brazil HERE, US HERE and Italy HERE.

Scope the fifth of seven mini-documentaries on Ecate’s recording process at THIS LOCATION and stand by for the final episode to leak in the coming days. Also catch up with part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.

Preorders for Ecate including limited edition vinyl, CD, shirt, and bundle deals are now available. In North America stop by the Neurot Recordings store HERE and internationally click to Supernatural Cat’s store HERE.

UFOMAMMUT’s massive international tour in support of Ecate begins directly after its release, with several Italian shows preceding their two-week European tour with the UK’s Conan, and including appearances at both of this year’s Desertfest events in London and Berlin. And May and June will see the band on their first-ever tour of North America. Initiated by their anticipated performance at this year’s Maryland Deathfest with lablemates Yob, Neurosis and countless others, UFOMAMMUT’s month-long North America Spring 2015 will run from May 13th through June 13th, with direct support from Relapse Records’ Usnea.

Savage Land is the forthcoming debut full-length from death metal perpetrators, GRUESOME. Featuring within their bestial ranks members of Exhumed, Possessed, Malevolent Creation and Derketa, GRUESOME is a supergroup of sorts paying homage to the game-changing sounds of Death’s early recordings.

GRUESOME was borne out of guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey (Exhumed) and drummer Gus Rios’ (Malevolent Creation) mutual involvement with the Death To All tours — Harvey serving as frontman for the original nine-member mini-tour and Rios performing “Baptized In Blood” and working with DTA drummer Sean Reinert on the following US tour where Exhumed filled in as support on a several dates. After discarding the idea of putting together another incarnation of DTA to focus exclusively on Death’s first two albums, Harvey half-jokingly suggested writing their own songs in that vein. It wasn’t long before the idea gained traction, and the “band” had five songs written. Rios later recruited Possessed guitarist Daniel Gonzalez and Derketa bassist Robin Mazen to record the material in Florida.

The result is the eight scathing tracks contained on Savage Land. Recorded by Rios and Gonzalez at Riversound Studios in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, mixed by Jarrett Pritchard at Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida and including a guest guitar solo on “Closed Casket” by James Murphy as well as cover art by legendary illustrator Ed Repka (Death, Megadeth, Massacre, Athiest et el), is a truly gruesome slab of late-‘80s/early-‘90s Florida-styled death metal.

Set for release next month, today team GRUESOME offers up fourth track “Hideous” for communal absorption. The track is based on 1932 horror film, Freaks, in which the characters were played by people who worked as carnival sideshow performers and had real deformities. The original version was considered too shocking to be released, and no longer exists.

Rios further elaborates, “‘Hideous’ was one of the last songs to be written for the album. By that point Matt had really hit a stride with the writing and this song turned out to be one of our favorites! It seamlessly blends influences from the first three Death albums with even a tiny tip of the hat to Human. Listen closely after the solo section…you’ll swear it’s 1988 for real! We sincerely hope that everyone enjoys this as much as we did creating it! Hail Chuck [Schuldiner]!”

Tragically, there will never be any truly new Death material, but GRUESOME is humbly determined to keeping the band’s classic sound alive as faithfully as possible. Savage Land will be released in North America via Relapse Records on April 21st, 2015, April 17th in Germany, Benelux and Finland and April 20th in the UK, rest of the world on CD and digitally. For preorders scroll on over to THIS LOCATION. Digital preorders are available via iTunes HERE and the GRUESOME BandCamp page HERE.

“The turning inside out of Death’s first two albums is in good hands here.” – Decibel Magazine

“Absolutely kick-ass in its own right, but also an authentic form of homage to Death.” – No Clean Singing

With as much vibrant, organic beauty coursing through its veins as it has distressed melancholy, the new collaborative LP from WINO & CONNY OCHS titled Freedom Conspiracy is being prepared for release via Exile On Mainstream Records, and today the maiden single from the record has been made available courtesy of Classic Rock Magazine.

Over the course of Freedom Conspiracy’s lucky thirteen anthems of top-tier contemporary Americana, tales of regret, love, loss and redemption come alive through the dynamic dual guitarist and singer/songwriter approach of these two iconic artists, and one of its most heart-wrenching tunes would undoubtedly be its fifth track, “Shards.” With a beautiful blend of electric slide and acoustic guitar tracks and the layered, clear vocals of both CONNY OCHS and SCOTT “WINO” WEINRICH telling the tale of a man whose heart and soul are beyond broken — they’re shattered into a thousand pieces — and his attempts to sort himself back into once piece from amidst the wreckage.

Germany’s Exile On Mainstream Records, responsible for several previous releases from both WINO and CONNY OCHS, including their maiden collaborative album, Heavy Kingdom, will release Freedom Conspiracy in North America on March 31st, and Earsplit Distro is proud to be the exclusive stateside distributor of the LP! Imported from Germany, the vinyl version is pressed on 180-gram black vinyl in a reverse board sleeve with thermographic print and an extensive booklet, the CD packaged in a mini-gatefold with booklet and matt laminate varnish. The first fifteen preorders of the LP will also receive a FREE copy of CONNY OCHS’ Suiciety 7”, including two new songs and an outtake from the Raw Love Songs sessions, initially released to accompany OCHS’ recent European tour with labelmates, Kristian Harting and Friedemann, limited to 300 copies worldwide.

Preorders can be placed in the US right HERE and internationally HERE.

With tour plans for WINO & CONNY OCHS to take their new anthems on the road across Europe, North America and beyond are in the works, WINO has been confirmed as direct solo support for Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society on a special twelve-city US tour this Spring. From April 3rd through 19th the caravan will trek through the country with shows in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas, Colorado, Utah and California. Additionally, CONNY OCHS has planned several European solo excursions including a Spring Italiano mini-tour and a variety of Summer festivals, with more to be announced.

The anxiously anticipated second collaborative LP from American doom metal legend and solo artist, SCOTT “WINO” WEINRICH, and iconic German singer/songwriter, CONNY OCHS, entitled Freedom Conspiracy, is finally upon us. Recorded at Kabumm Studio with producer Thommy Krawallo, as was their Heavy Kingdom LP, the newest collection of ambitious, harrowing and beautiful music created by WINO & CONNY OCHS not only brings forth the same quality of organically conceived folk/rock fans of the previous album should expect, it simply excels in every imaginable aspect. Freedom Conspiracy’s approach is slightly different from Heavy Kingdom as it has been created in a much more organic way with rudimentary ideas brought in by each and then carved into songs by both together. Fusing acoustic and electric guitars and with both artists’ standout vocal styles searing through these thirteen well-crafted brand new hymns, the album delivers forty-five minutes of some of the most refined, dynamic and unforgettable folk/rock music in years. Fans of Woodie Guthrie, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Bob Dylan, The Black Crowes, Scott Kelly, Mike Scheidt and the like should make sure this duo is on your radar.

The first single from the upcoming debut LP by New Jersey’s SUBURBAN SCUM has been has been released early through Lambgoat as the band takes their bruising new anthems cruising across the country on tour today.

SUBURBAN SCUM has just wrapped up production on their debut full-length release at the Machine Shop in Belleville, New Jersey with producer Will Putney (Body Count, Vision Of Disorder, The Acacia Strain), the man also responsible for mixing and mastering the album. Now confirmed to wear the title Ultimate Annihilation, the new album takes the riotous, straightforward energy of the band’s previous recordings to a dynamic new level of ferociousness through a dozen crushing tracks of full-bore Jersey hardcore. Ultimate Annihilation also bears guest vocal contributions from Justice Tripp (Trapped Under Ice, Angel Du$t), Brendan Garrone (Incendiary), and Gregory Falchetto (The Mongoloids), and has is fitted with cover artwork by Jesse Schallart (Skeletonwitch, Xibalba, Discourse).Troy, New York-based Closed Casket Activities, also responsible for SUBURBAN SCUM’s split LP with Xibalba, will release Ultimate Annihilation on vinyl as well as through all major digital platforms early this Summer with a final street date to be announced shortly.

The first taste of blood to be shed from SUBURBAN SCUM’s Ultimate Annihilation has just been spat forth via Lambgoat, with the exclusive premiere of the album’s “Death Is Destiny” playing RIGHT HERE.

Ultimate Annihilation Track Listing:
1. The Beginning Of The End
2. Ultimate Annihilation
3. Forced Through Fire
4. Zero Tolerence
5. Love And Hate
6. Pain Is Promised
7. Ready For War
8. Misery Loves Company
9. Six Feet Under
10. Watch It Burn
11. The Calm Before The Storm
12. Death Is Destiny

The band’s first video, additional audio and more on Ultimate Annihilation will inundate the masses over the coming weeks.

The latest live actions from SUBURBAN SCUM begin today as the band hits the highways alongside Bent Life and Misery supporting the co-headlining Rotting Out and Expire tour, raging through the Western half of the country from March 3rd through the 22nd. SUBURBAN SCUM will also perform on the second day of the New England Metal & Hardcore Fest on Saturday, April 18th with Testament, Exodus, Nuclear Assault, Nails, Indecision, Incendiary and others followed by the first day of the Black N’ Blue Bowl in NYC on May 16th with The Regulators, Candiria, Madball, Earth Crisis, Turnstile and more.

Since 2010 SUBURBAN SCUM has been busy touring abroad in addition to releasing multiple recordings, including their Infernal War EP with Ride The Fury Records, the 2012-released Hanging By A Thread EP on 6131 Records, a split 7” with Incendiary via Closed Casket Activities and most recently a split 12” with Xibalba also on Closed Casket released last year. Their clear-cut delivery is elementally hardcore to the bone; completely enraged and outspoken, with enough metal to make its presence known and not overthrow the core of the songs, their lyrics streetwise but realistic. Having made their presence known on tour with the likes of Expire, Rotting Out, Backtrack, Harm’s Way, Bitter End, Downpresser and many others, and their energetic performances at major festivals including This Is Hardcore, Sound & Fury, United Blood, Rain Fest and more have been well-documented with Youtube visual evidence and mass reports of bodily harm during performances.

THE COMPOUND & EARSPLIT DISTRO Update: GODHUNTER And AMIGO THE DEVIL, LAE, WINO & CONNY OCHS & More – THE EARSPLIT COMPOUND continues to infiltrate the populous with quality non-mainstream music through its three subdivided branches of public propaganda — EARSPLIT PR, THE COMPOUND RECS, and EARSPLIT DISTRO – and here declares the latest actions on behalf of its label and mailorder sects for the first quarter of 2015. [More…]

DORO: Reigning Queen Of Metal To Kick Off US Tour! – Reigning queen of metal, DORO PESCH, is readying to kick off another stretch of US tour dates next week. [More…]

SOLEFALD: New Hymn From Norwegian Avant Norse Folk Duo Streaming At Revolver; World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud To See Release In North America Tomorrow! – Tomorrow, Indie Recordings will unleash World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud from Norway’s prized Avant Norse folk duo, SOLEFALD, upon North American ears. [More…]

USNEA: North American Spring Tour With Ufomammut Confirmed – Following the release of their Relapse Records debut, Random Cosmic Violence, Portland, Oregon’s sludge/doom destroyers, USNEA, have been confirmed as the sole support act for Ufomammut’s upcoming first-ever North American tour this Spring. [More…]

GRISTNAM: Cvlt Nation Hosts Two New Traumatic Tunes From Louisiana Sludge Grind Assassins; Even Less Out Now Via Housecore Records – Even Less is the latest full-length from Louisiana sludge grind assassins, GRISTNAM. [More…]

THE INSPECTOR CLUZO: Gasconha Rocks LP Out In North America Today On Suicidal Records; Rockfarmers Documentary Teaser Released – Gasconha Rock, the acclaimed fourth album from Mont de Marsan, France’s dynamic guitar and drums rock duo, THE INSPECTOR CLUZO, is officially out today in North America via Suicidal Tendencies’-run Suicidal Records, just ahead of the band’s stateside return to take part in SXSW 2015. [More…]

ULCERATE Announces Australasia MMXV Tour Dates – Cutting-edge death metal outfit, ULCERATE, has announced a run of Spring and early Summer tour dates throughout Australia and their native New Zealand. [More…]

JADED STAR: Greek Act Featuring Visions Of Atlantis And Iced Earth Alumni Leaks Details Of Sensory Records-Bound Debut – JADED STAR, the dynamic Greece-based outfit featuring former members of Visions Of Atlantis, Iced Earth and many others, has divulged new details of their impending debut album, Memories From The Future, which is nearing April release via Sensory Records. [More…]

IN THE COMPANY OF SERPENTS: Denver’s Doomiest To Kick Off US Tour; Additional Dates Confirmed – Denver doom duo, IN THE COMPANY OF SERPENTS, will kick off their US live takeover next week. [More…]

PYRRHON: New York Experimental Death Metal Strategists Announce European Tour – New York experimental death metal strategists, PYRRHON, have announced their first ever European tour. [More…]

WRATH OF VESUVIUS: West Coast Technical Death Outfit To Drop New Full-Length This June; Studio Footage/Track Sampler Revealed + US Tour To Kick Off Tomorrow – California technical death metal architects and recent Unique Leader signees, WRATH OF VESUVIUS,otherwise known as WRVTH, will release their third full-length this June. [More…]

ENABLERS: San Francisco Outfit Returns With Fifth Album Of Gripping Post-Post-Rock, The Rightful Pivot; European Tour Booked – San Francisco’s ENABLERS will release their fifth full-length album, The Rightful Pivot, this April with their longtime collaborators Exile On Mainstream handling the CD release in conjunction with Lancashire and Somerset handling the LP and Atypeek Music releasing the album digitally. [More…]

IRIS DIVINE Releases New Single From Sensory Records Debut; Exclusive Track Premiere And Gear Feature Live At PureGrainAudio – Northern Virginia’s progressive hard rock/metal trio, IRIS DIVINE, has released another new single from their impending debut full-length release, Karma Sown, which will hit the streets worldwide via Sensory Records on March 31st. [More…]

WHITECHAPEL Kicks Off Brotherhood Of The Blade Headlining Tour; “Let Me Burn” Video Unveiled – Top 10 Billboard charting metal collective, WHITECHAPEL, will return to the road again tomorrow for the Brotherhood Of The Blade Tour. [More…]

MINSK: Midwest Atmospheric Metal Conjurors Unveil New Tune; The Crash & The Draw To See Release In April – Scattered between the sleepy city of Peoria and metropolis of Chicago and drawing inspiration from a remote Belarusian city that has been burned to the ground only to be rebuilt like a phoenix rising from its own ashes, MINSK has been cultivating sonic exploration and alchemical outpourings since 2002. [More…]

Scattered between the sleepy city of Peoria and metropolis of Chicago and drawing inspiration from a remote Belarusian city that has been burned to the ground only to be rebuilt like a phoenix rising from its own ashes, MINSK has been cultivating sonic exploration and alchemical outpourings since 2002. Rooted in the post-metal landscape that brought forth visionaries like Neurosis and Isis, with their latest opus, The Crash & The Draw, MINSK step out of the shadows of the giants of their genre to create a psychedelic blend of tuneful, trance-inducing heaviness.

Set to drop via Relapse Records this Spring, The Crash & The Draw follows the eclectic collective’s six-year hiatus and boasts eleven arresting psalms that transcend far beyond the boundaries of post-metal, sludge and psychedelia. An instant contender for one of the most forward-thinking metal records of the year, each cascading movement is a crucial sonic passage through dark and light. At once crushing, hallucinatory and at times, spiritually illuminating, tracks ebb and flow with a pastoral elegance and tangible urgency.

Reflects co-founding member Timothy Mead (vocals, keyboards) of the recording: “So much attention and care have gone into this process, this renewal. We knew in order to really move MINSK forward in a meaningful way we would need to raise the bar all over again. This realization lit a fire within us to transcend what was. Lots of changes, to be sure, and yet the results are unmistakably MINSK.”

Adds co-founder Christopher Bennett (guitars, vocals): “This new album will present inroads to some of the musical archetypes we initially discussed when starting this band, but ones we have not yet touched on in the macrocosmic sense. It embodies the furtherance and expansion of MINSK in ways desired in the past, but not realized until these songs began to show themselves to us. The aggregate elements combining into a solid form. We hope to reveal this process to any and all who have the ears to hear.”

“We are very pleased to finally be able to share an actual piece of the record,” Mead continues of “To The Garish Remembrance of Failure,” available for the first time today for public consumption. “As always with MINSK, it’s incredibly difficult to lift out one piece of the narrative and imply that it is fully representative of the whole, but I think that ‘To the Garish Remembrance of Failure’ is a fitting first taste, something succinct, and something that feels really good to turn up loud. The phrase alone, to the garish remembrance of failure, is exceptionally meaningful to us, and we are proud to share a first glimpse of some of what is ahead. Raise a glass, feel and know the vivid memory of what has gone wrong and what must change… to the garish remembrance of failure.”

Recorded almost exclusively in The Prairie State, The Crash & The Draw was captured by the band alongside Sanford Parker (Twilight, Voivod, Eyehategod, Yob etc.) at Earth Analog in Tolono, mixed by Parker and MINSK at Hypercube in Chicago and mastered by Collin Jordan (Eyehategod, Indian, Wovenhand, Voivod etc.) at The Boiler Room in Chicago with additional vocal tracking by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City. Old Man Gloom, Floor etc.) at Antisleep Audio in Oakland, California and further tracking, editing, and mixing by Kevin Rendleman at Trash Rocket Audio and Aaron Austin at We Know Who You Are, both in Peoria. The record includes the striking cover creation of Orion Landau (Yob, Inter Arma, Red Fang etc.), a reinterpretation of original artwork by contributing artist, Corinne Reid.

MINSK’s The Crash & The Draw will be released via Relapse Records in North America on April 7th, 2015, April 3rd, 2015 in Germany, Benelux and Finland and April 6th, 2015 in the UK and rest of the world and come available on CD, double LP and digitally. Preorder your copy today at THIS LOCATION. For digital orders, go HERE.

Northern Virginia’s progressive hard rock/metal trio, IRIS DIVINE, has released another new single from their impending debut full-length release, Karma Sown, which will hit the streets worldwide via Sensory Records on March 31st. The opening track from Karma Sown, “The Everlasting Sea” thunders with almost six-and-a-half minutes of sonic enormity, displaying the outfit’s heavier metal influences as well as the more serene and beautiful elements of IRIS DIVINE’s vibrant sound. This new anthem is now available for streaming through an exclusive premiere at PureGrainAudio, who also just published a gear feature with bassist Brian Dobbs.

Explore the depths of “The Everlasting Sea” HERE and the extensive gear interview on IRIS DIVINE’s sound HERE, both courtesy of PureGrainAudio.

The band also previously released Karma Sown’s third track, “A Suicide Aware,” at THIS LOCATION.

Sensory Records will release Karma Sown worldwide on CD and digitally on March 31st, 2015. Additional album details, audio teasers, preorder links and much more will be released over the coming weeks, including 2015 tour dates for IRIS DIVINE.

IRIS DIVINE Live:
5/03/2015 Empire – West Springfield, VA w/ Haken

With a brand of emotional, progressive hard rock/metal not quite like anything else out there, IRIS DIVINE is musically rooted in the raw energy and rhythmic interplay of Rush and King’s X. Fans of dark, guitar-driven rock bands from Alice In Chains, Deftones to the contemporary metal riffing of Lamb of God and Pantera will connect to the heavy core of the band’s modern sound. Add to that progressive complexity and moody synths inspired by Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree, and a liberal dose of memorable hooks and melodies, to understand some elements of the band’s sound. And yet, the band has a distinct identity, not quite sounding like any of the aforementioned bands, and with an emotional urgency that pulls subtly from alternative and other influences. Embodied by vocalist/guitarist Navid Rashid, drummer/programmer Kris Combs and bassist Brian Dobbs, IRIS DIVINE’s glorious debut full-length, Karma Sown, is a triumph of a debut album, immediate and memorable but revealing layers and depth upon repeated listens. The record was produced by IRIS DIVINE, engineered by Drew Mazurek and Farhad Hossain, mixed by Drew Mazurek, and mastered by Brian J. Anthony, and its cover art conceived by Kris Combs and executed by Visual Decay.